All is not lost for RP aggie amid El Niño—ex-Agri execs say

Despite the "El Niño" effects of parched farmlands, wilted crops, and depleted water sources, a group of former agriculture and fisheries officials on Wednesday said the Philippines still has a chance of reducing the phenomenon’s impact. All that's needed, the officials said, are a little opening up of the agricultural market, a little convincing of the farmers, some supportive national policies, and of course, a lot of political will, among other things. In a press dialogue in Quezon City on Wednesday, former Agriculture secretary William Dar, who served from 1998 to 1999, said the lack of "political will" in the country is among the culprits why the country is suffering not only from El Niño but also climate change. "[But] there is still hope in a climate change environment... but effort is required," said Dar, who is the current director of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). ICRISAT is a non-proft, non-political organization doing agricultural research for sustainable development in poor countries. Dar said aside from budget constraints hounding the agriculture sector, the government still has the habit of being "reactionary" or being jolted only when a crisis comes its way. "Year in, year out dapat may naka-prepare [na measures] sa area. Hindi iyong kung kailan lang may El Niño (there should be prepared measures in the area. Not just when El Niño is already here)… Why not have budgets released to implement this today," he said. But the former Agriculture chief lamented how budget appropriated for several environmental projects have failed to trickle down to the grassroots in the past. Asked if the officials of the Department of Agriculture have been remiss in their responsibilities, Dar said: "It's the government policy that has not been working." He branded as a mere "stopgap solution" the Philippines' continued importation of agricultural products like rice, adding that developing agricultural facilities within the country and harnessing biotechnology is key to achieving "sustained self-sufficiency." Arsenio Camacho, former director of the Bureau of Fisheries, said in the dialogue that more than relying on remittances from overseas Filipino workers to keep the economy afloat, the government should invest more on the agriculture sector. "Sana unahin ang agriculture (We hope agriculture is prioritized). It's the basic foundation of the economy. Marami nang countries ang nag-succeed at tayo ay developing na (So many countries have succeeded, and we ourselves are now developing)," said Camacho, who is now based in Washington. He even suggested that presidential candidates for the May elections be gathered in a forum where they would be asked to detail their specific plans for the agriculture sector should they be elected. "Hindi kasi nila iyan nadidiscuss. Mayroon nga pero sobrang konti lang. Dapat tanungin natin sila ng detalyado (That’s because they don’t discuss these things. Or they do but there’s too little. We should ask them for details)," Camacho said. Meanwhile, Dr. Santiago Obien, former executive director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), said the government should invest more on alternative crops, especially those that survive in high temperatures. He said that ICRISAT was successful in introducing some of these crops to India, where temperatures in some parts could exceed 40 degrees Celsius. "There are varieties that can adapt to temperatures as high as 48 degrees Celsius. We can import those varieties. That has been the advantage [of those crops] to India," he said. Water supply The El Niño phenomenon has not only dried up lands but also threatened to bring down the water of major dams to critical levels. While these dams in Luzon are mainly used as sources of power and potable water, the water impounded in the reservoirs also goes to irrigation. Dar said while it would have been helpful if the government had constructed water facilities for irrigation to battle El Niño, it would already have been too late, adding that construction should have been done late last year. Just the same, he said government investment should pour into building such facilities to cushion the effects not just of this year's El Niño, but of the next El Niños in the years to come. At the height of cyclones Ondoy and Pepeng in September-October 2009, a record amount of rainfall fell over Luzon, bringing water levels in major dams to spilling levels. The situation forced dam administrators to release water to the rivers, eventually flooding a huge portion of several cities in Metro Manila and neighboring Rizal during Ondoy, and many provinces of Central Luzon and some parts of Northern Luzon during Pepeng. Now that the long dry spell has made water supply in Luzon critical, the dams cannot help because of their own low water levels. Dar said the government would not be facing water shortage problems if it had early on invested on cascading mini-dams. There are dams that catch spillover water from bigger dams upstream, thus storing the spillover instead of allowing it to flow out to sea. He said another problem facing the agriculture sector is the "aging" farmer population in the country, adding that children in farming families tend to veer away from plowing farmlands when they grow up. Dar feared that if young farmers are not encouraged to stick to farming, the country could lose its farmers in about a decade's time. "We need to encourage the young farmers to go back to farming... We need to empower them because this is the group of farmers that will feed Filipinos 10 to 20 years from now," he stressed. Dar said the ICRISAT had previously submitted these recommendations to Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap, but "we haven't heard from him since."—JV, GMANews.TV